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Best description of today's hearing's thus far comes from our own Hugh:
This is like a CEO giving you his expansion plan and pointing to all the charts that show everything is going great, except for the one small fact that the company is going under.
Things are going so well in Iraq that we can cut our troops back to more than we had there when the surge started. That’s progress....
Although violence is up, it’s down.
Although our mission is to protect civilians, we are currently attacking them.
Although the Iraqi security forces are doing great things, we still can’t defend anything.
Although we are withdrawing troops, we are leaving more troops there then before.
Emptywheel points out that the DOJ doesn't have time to respond to Congressional requests for information to back up their claims -- so the stonewalling continues, and the accountability and oversight suffers for it.
This from Arianna made me laugh out loud:
Have you heard the news? "The Surge" is about to end. The next phase of our 100 Year War is "The Pause." Surge, Pause... Surge, Pause... We can't pull out! It's all starting to sound a bit sexual, isn't it? But the American people are the ones getting screwed.
Thomas Ricks and Spencer Ackerman have more. It's certainly feeling like a long, long morning of spin, counter-spin and innuendo...and not much blunt truth.
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McAincient
Peace now ,Damn it !
If General MATH and Betty the Crock were businessmen- once they lost the first trillion dollars in an investment- that would provide a logical argument for dumping another trillion in the venturel…go figure.
CEO president my ass.
Kennedy tried to ask about whether Cheney was involved/informed of the Basra initiative, but Crocker’s answer was evasive. He said it wasn’t discussed “in any meeting in which I was present.” But he wasn’t asked whether he knew or had been told about what Cheney discussed with the Iraq officials.
The real question here is why Petraeus should be let to play with the US Army like it was his own personal toy.
100 years war, for oil……. dumb
Warner asking if this is making us safer at home.
Fail forward for genocide and robber barons!
Support making your troops bomb children and shoot their burning bodies in route to the hospital.
Would it be fair to say that McCain in the service of covering up the failure of the surge is plastering makeup on it like a trollop?
Do did he or didn’t he get Cheney’s memo? *g*
in senate finance committee now, the unexamined basis for the discussion is that iran is our enemy and must be controlled or destroyed economically.
for example, that they are the region’s “biggest exporter of electricity” is seen as a very bad thing - an example of their desire for regional control that we must roll back.
Warner “80% of Americans do not think it is worth it!” Must be listen to Americans…..
perfect picture Christy
.
and for whoever it was this morning, and I’m sorry I can’t remember
Here’s Petreaus’ chart on
Recommended Force Reductions / Mission Shift
Crocker has some shifty eyes
Goebbels would be proud of these two political apparatchicks. A work in Progress?
“SO!!!!”
“Sir, when a company loses a trillion dollars in an enterprise- does that provide a good reason to lose more- or a reason to get the fuck out?”
so sadly true Eureka … damn them
Hopefully, McCain, with his undying love for this war as demonstrated by his “questioning” of Petraeus and Crocker, will seal his defeat in November.
PERFECT picture! lol Talk about nailing it! What a bunch of crocker. sorry. i just woke up here. trying to wrap my head around this chit. and good day all.
Good news. Iraq has made us safer.
Don’t pay attention I suppose to the NIE that said that Iraq has been a great recruiting tool for terrorists.
Crockashit looks like a corpse- don’t get out much anymore?
Petreaus has a written, prepared answer to Warner’s question — has our effort in Iraq made the US more secure? Warner asks again, for a simple answer. Petraeus is ducking again, saying the effort in Iraq is “worth it,” but not whether the strategic decision to focus there is making us safer.
Crocker says AQ is our mortal enemy, so “to the extent we can weaken them” in Iraq it “makes us safer.” Very careful evasions. Warner doesn’t realize they didn’t answer his question.
from senate finance committee - something i didn’t know was that when s.970 was brought up last year (with it’s 70 cosponsors), apparently the administration asked congress to slow down on it.
sad…..
No one gets Cheney’s memos. See emptywheel.
now to get real sick……….
OK everybody quiet now here is lierman!!!!!!
Gah! Lieberman!
“Peace now ,Damn it !”
Thanks. My new bumper sticker.
Did the pet general just say, “they died, very much so” [!?!]
I think I may have to bow out of this. not enuf hooch in the world to make it go down and stay down.
Lieberman is up. Yuck!
LIEberman up and strangely, my speakers have gone silent …
crockashit and general math both avoid every question by rattling off a bunch a shit.
Liberwurst tries to get the grand champion of “thank you for your service” to general math.
My contempt for Lieberman knows no bounds-punaise 2006
Lieberman — criticizes his Dem colleagues — they “hear no progress, see no progress, speak of no progress.” Why can’t they “agree on the facts?”
Joe is a true THESPIAN……kinda like shylock
senate finance committee - reinsch:our iran policy requires help from the russians. this bill ties the president’s hands.
Seconded.
I must mute Lieberrshit
He is full of shit..go be a damn repug
Agreement on the facts??? The dems need to strip him of his chair duties and let the repugs have them
Lieberwurst has no question apparently- wants ta give a nice speech bout how nice Iraq is.
all on message…IRAN
seconded
Lierman wants to know about Iran…didn’t take him long huh!
Lieberman: My colleagues have an attitude: see no progress, hear no progress, say no progress.
Well ya know Joe, maybe that’s because there hasn’t been any progress.
L. We need to establish the facts and the facts are what you are telling us.
Now on to the evils of Iran.
i’m momentarily distracted - i’ll follow along in the comments…..
mr is throwing wadded newspaper at the tv
Lieberman Progress in Iraq agreement on the facts but troops won’t be coming home in the future?
Lieberman: Rah! Rah! There is progress in Iraq! But not enough to bring our troops home. I’m going to get another cup of coffee. Nothing new here.
God, he sounds so whiiiinnnney
JOE LIE has some pickle down his throat
Every time Petraeus is speaking, there should be a soundtrack of a tin can being kicked down a road.
Progress in Iraq … Liarman
Iraqi leadership has achieved more progress than the American … hmmm… as Iraqi leadership tries to kill the opposition party coz they might win the provincial elections
Liar wants to “move to more success so we can bring our troops home…”
Who knew! Why. It’s so simple!
like a moth to the flame… i must switch to listening to c-span
Lieberwurst wants to hear about Iran—General Math talkin bout “master trainers”—-(or master baters- not sure which.)
JoLie, since you wanna talk about “facts,” what about the $350,000 in petty cash you used to buy votes in the primary.
Sic him Lucky…. go on get the bastard
slimey,whinney and utmost liar….JOE your son is in his 20s…encourage him to GO SERVE IN EYERAK
I’ve turned it off. Wonder if anyone will ask about Maliki and the Badr militia?
P. recycling the old canard about the Explosively Formed Projectiles coming from Iran. It’s a round piece of copper for cripes sake.
Ironically, Lieberman can’t seem to hear the evil, see the evil, or speak of the evil of this war.
**Interestingly enough, begun by a man many liken to a monkey**
Joe laying groundwork for escalation in coming weeks!!!
Iran bullshit again … and the ongoing lie that IRaqis need Iranians to teach them how to make IEDs which any fool can make
No it is not the Iranians who are guilty of murder you ahole it is bush that is guilty of genocide
JOE one trick pony on IRAN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
We need to develop a geometric pressure gauge for Petraeus
liesmath.Sorry he is way too busy killing Palestinians
Wow, all y’all are quick with the comments this morning. Thanks for the liveblogging!
Christy! You rock. Minor correction, though, on the link to Emptywheel: it’s the DOJ, not the DOD (today, at least), that just doesn’t have time to answer to Congress…
FunnyDiva
L. Iranian backed militias running wild in the South.
The joke here is that isn’t the JAM but our allies the ISCI and Dawa.
I knew it the General found a link to Iran this hearing is not about Iraq its trying to establish a Causi Beli to invade Iran. Lieberman is now blaming hundreds of American deaths on the Iranians.
Do we trust anything Joe or the Bushies say about this war after how many years of were wining just another six months, WMD etc.
Christy can we have a letter writing campaign to ask Joe to send HIS KIDS to serve in Iraq????
HAH!!! yeah that’ll happen…..
liarman looking for a justification for war with iran - with his q on iran being responsible for 100’s of american deaths and 1000’s of iraqi deaths? did i hear him correctly? please tell me i misheard.
I wonder how the people of the Nutmeg State are feeling about their elected official these days?
Have their chickens finally come home to roost? If so, mustn’t there be a massive, collective puke occurring all across Connecticut this morning?
That’s the way I heard it, too. Sorry.
we need to write to him en masse,then youtube it…send it all over the intertubes
OT
More Green Zone strikes
time to wad up more peper, here comes Inhofe
next up 2nd stupidest fukker on the plannet,with 1 million kids that dont serve
BushCo is mad at Iran for negotiating ceasefires and f*cking up the Neocon gameplan …
Inhofe is worried about dinosaur mounted Iranian militia.
Same old PNAC-attack meme.
Inhofe up. Well here’s a chance for some intelligently designed questions.
See there is a God…
well, that’s just disgusting. inhofe using a funeral. i’m sure no one is surprised. think i’ll go over and give Andrew Rice some money for that comment. ya think he knows his days are numbered?
asshole!
sumwon, hand liarmn sum eyedrops. e’s blinkin’ record speed. ain’t that s’posed ta mean sunthin?
paper, that is
I watched a few minutes of the hearings and gave up because I figured anything was better than listening to these guys and gals babble on predictably about whether the war is worth it or not. This after the populace has already decided it’s not. Wake me if anyone asks Petraeus where he would find the troops to stay in Iraq if they go back to 12 month tours? Or whether he thinks the well he’s going to is a well that never runs dry no matter what. When Dems take over, it will be time to start paying the bills from this war. No more credit card purchases of equipment or incentives to procure soldiers.
Actually, I’d much rather ask if Christy doesn’t already have a doxie, and how the other pets in the house are taking to the puppy. He reminds me of the picture Raven showed of his dog before he grew up.
liarman done and now inhofe is up. from evil to stupid. is that an improvement? i don’t know.
Inhofe trying to say the “far left” will accuse US of torturing detainees. Sorry, Jimmy, it’s well established that we torture and that it is approved government policy. Screw Yoo.
the cluster fucked Iraqi Oil Plot and its sand storm continues..
Now to listen to the next “pos”…….. inhofe
Oh oh it is us commies that are saying that mercuns torture but is just not true we don’t torture noooooo… thanks imhof
Robert Reid of AP reports that hundreds of Iraqis fled the Shiite districts of Baghdad that are under siege by American and Iraqi government forces. The US and its Iraqi allies engaged in firefights on several fronts in the Shiite neighborhoods. US helicopter gunships and fighter bombers also fired missiles into the civilian neighborhoods. The attacksleft 14 dead in the Baghdad area. The US military denies that its bombing of civilian neighborhoods kills innocent civilians. While I know they try hard to minimize collateral damage, the blanket form of the assertion is not plausible.
http://www.juancole.com/
Isn’t bombing Civilian areas a war crime? Petraeus is the General in charge of Iraq right now so he’s guilty then?
Inhofe asked detainees if they were being mistreated and they said no. (If they said yes, the beatings would have gotten more extreme.)
Yep, and he gave me a “God Button” on my remote … *g*
yeah. he’s lying.
well how dare we metion brutality, torture and such … the Iraqi detainees are so fucking happy to be held for years with no charges
Watching this hearing is an exercise in masochism. I have yet to hear a single resounding challenge to the Petraeus/Crocker act. It is a disgrace!
thanks for the reality check.
i’m back to listening to the senate finance committee hearing on s.970.
Inhoffe says that he asked all the detainees whether they have been well treated and they ALL say that they love america.
Some senators would suspect that only people who are being intimidated would actually praise their captors….fuckin idiot.
Detainees are being treated great in Iraq. More good news because there are so very, very many of them.
P. says they are using spies among them to protect them. Some even want to stay on things are so good.
yes … think Guernica … our tax dollars at work
There are 50,000 new detainees since the surge started. Click my name.
I wish CSpan would run a split screen of live Iraq footage along with this crap.
Actually, Inhofe kept slapping them until they changed their answer to “No!”
Hey! Yer quick! *g*
… and they’re much better off than if they were in NOLA …
the sickness,and evil ,is getting UN palatable,and sunny France is looking better and better
Send donations to Andrew Rice through Blue America! Please!
Whether he is retired or not, is there any law preventing the Congress from asking Fallon to come and chat with them to get his perspective? I’d be much more interested in that, particularly if he’s now free to tell the truth instead of speak the government line.
Ask them again when they are out of jail and safe in an other country:)
Maybe one has to stop bombing civilians before it becomes a crime?
senate finance committee - (kittrie, i think) china is not being helpful. they are doing business with iran. maybe we should impose economic sanctions on china.
I honestly beleive that Inhofe is a taco shy of a combination plate. Absolutely crackers
Wasn’t it Republicans like Inhofe attacking Democrats and accusing them of supporting the terrorists and garbage like that by their insisting we treat detainees according to the Geneva Conventions? Wasn’t it Repubs like Inhofe who disparaged Democrats for NOT wanting to abuse and mistreat detainees?
Now he’s imploring the general to testify to the fab-yoo treatment the detainees are getting?
Strange conflict there.
Inhofe: Iraqi troops did great in Basra.
P. too much for even him. I do not want to overstate how well they did, but then proceeds to do so.
Inhofe says that our troops were really pleased with the Iraqi troops- they really did GOOD! (other than gettin the shit kicked out of em in an operation that should never have taken place in the first instance.)
Crocker claiming Iran is leading a “lebanonzation” of Iraq … yet the leading opposition movement hates Iran
On April 7th Tucker Carlson debating with Phil Donahue on Dan Abram’s Verdict declared:
“I do not think the measure of success in Iraq is the well being of the Iraqi people….The idea, it is not our job to bring peace and security to Iraq, our job is to protect our interest”…
And then goes on to attack Phil Donahue’s because of Donahue’s comments about Dick Cheney.
If you missed this, you should definitely watch it.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21.....4#24003394
Inhoh looks as if he stayed in the tannin’ booth too long. lobster - red.
Don’t know why we’re bothering to have these stupid hearings. Clusterfuck’s gonna do whatever he wants for the next nine months anyway…
This is a fuckin waste of time.
Who are the constipated looking folks sitting behind Petraeus?
senate finance committee hearing is adjourned. i only heard parts of it, but i think it is worth a listen when it is put up in the committee’s archives.
Will the Mahdi Army disband at request of Maliki? ha
Sadr’s statemet that he would disband if clergy asked - and clergy said yesterday they would never do that
Anybody have a link to the hearing?
NSA goons who have the goods on the Senators.
PD………..skewed the little arrogant “accident”